Fordyce On Lips Cure

Also, I want to reiterate, Ive had several spots lasered and what worked was a FULL ABLATIVE SCITON ERBIUM on almost the highest settings back in June of 2017.

This actually worked very well but the main reason I have not gone back, as I mentioned before, is the TAZORAC .1% helped tremendously. Enough so that the doctor said to keep that up before we do more laser.

and no I dont work for Tazorac! I've tried all the retin A creams and this is the absolute stongest one on the market with the least side effects. Try it, see where your sweet spot is with application, may twice a day or maybe twice a week. JUST TRY IT so we can see if it's a long term solution

It's not a end all cure but it helped me and gave me my life back!! Laser is scary for some so try the cream first.

-DM Byers Until next time

Ha, this thread is 43 pages. I may have to consolidate my 7 years of knowledge, research and experiments (and other strong contributors here) into a new thread. Might be a lot easier

-DM Byers

Glad you are still trying things. I went to the derm last Tuesday and she told me it was oil glands and they don't recommend doing anything with them and that they arent very noticeable. (I admit, they were having a good day of course). So I asked for tazorac because of your recommendation and she gave me some. I can't remember the strength but I think its .06, and its actually helping a good bit. It kinda stretches my lip out i guess and makes them less visible. The thing that literally keeps me up at night is that I'm terrified that they are gonna spread and take over my entire lip. I called the derm yesterday to ask her if she would be willing to at least try some other methods, but they didn't call back until I was at work so I didn't get chance to ask. Ill call again tomorrow morning. So, for the time being, the Tazorac is helping , but I'm still really depressed and anxious and paranoid. I have nightmares that they are gonna soon be all over my lip. Pretty certain I've official lost it because of these.

S

Yes, these are oil glands or Sebaceous Glands. Exact same as the rest of your body except they are on your lips and do not have a hair follicle. The hair follicle allows oil to escape, hence the trapped oil resembling a tiny whitehead. Popping releases the oil but they just come back and causes scarring.

All i can say is Patience. Keep using the tazorac, or try the .1% if you dont see further improvement. Change up your diet, drink more water, start to exercise more, just be more healthy overall.

If you aren't happy with that Dermatologist, see another one. I think I have met with 8 so far while trying to tackle these spots.

As far as spreading, I have no clue there. From what I have read, a hormone imbalance seem to be the trigger on theses. Thats why you see a lot of complaints on here when you are 14,15,16,17, 18 and then a lot more when you are 29, 30, 31, etc. People also go a lifetime without noticing the spots then maybe they get a cold sore or get a bad sun burn which has them looking closely in the mirror. Then all of the sudden they notice the spots that have probably been there since puberty.

Keep at it, you will find a happy medium where the spots are manageable and you wont care nearly as much

-DM

But to answer it, mine did not spread once I first noticed them. you WILL think they are spreading but they are more than likely not

-DM

DM - how long did it take you for Tazorac to start showing signs of improvement? Also, any suggestions on what brand of matte lipstick? (assuming you are also a man). Thanks again for the consistent updates!

-KC

I have started derma rolling my lips with some hyalyronic acid and to test it out I started with my bottom lip and so far it has cleared, I have only a handful bumps left on my Lowe lip...which is a drastic improvement to how scattered they were all over. I just did my upper lip today and hoping to get good results. I willl try to apply propolis too. Hope this helps.

Tazorac starts working right away. You will feel you lips tightening and then peeling. In the beginning, I was using it a lot and it was peeling about once a week. Now I apply maybe once a day or every two days and they look so much better.

The lipstick I use is Smashbox matte. They have a ton of natural looking colors and I barely dab anything on. But since I have been using the tazorac, I havent needed the lipstick cover up.

The 50% TCA has also helped a lot. Im still testing but I've noticed the biggest spot I have had over the years gets better and better with each use.

1st time - it burned and turned white and I washed off with cold water. The spot came back in 4 weeks but a tad reduced.

2nd time - applied it in two coats and waited a little before washing with cold water. Spot came back at about 6 weeks but a little more reduced.

3rd time - applied three applications and did not wash off. This burned and was very white and was a little uncomfortable because I didn't wash until the morning. That was JAN 2 and the spot is VERY reduced with no scarring and looks a LOT better.


I'll keep testing with 50% TCA but it seems like this last round might have gone deep enough to damage the gland. Also good to hear about Propolis, sounds promising too. Derma rolling is basically popping the skin to release the oil. Definitely a temp solution but combined with other methods, it's a good way to get the oil out of the gland that is currently causing the spot.

DM byers

what in the world is derma rolling and what are the details (process, how to buy the roller (?), etc)? i wouldn't mind a short term solution...

KC

DM,

Two questions - Did the tazorac dry out your lips? If so, what did you use for hydration?


Thanks as always,

KC

Derma rolling is basically a roller with micro-needles on it that puncture the skin in order to cause damage. The thinking is your body will kick in to get rid of the old and damaged skin and produce new and healthy skim. I have tried it before and it just irritated my lips so of course the whiter areas turned red. That lasted just a few hours so I moved on but maybe it will work for you. cant hurt to try. Tazorac does the exact same thing but with a strong Retin A. Retin A forces the skin to regenerate, and thus getting rid of old or problematic cells. Your skin does this naturally but retin A speeds up the process. I think it works well for fordyce (at least for me) because its turning over new skin at the surface and forcing the spots further down. It also seems to shrink the spots too so maybe the new cells are absorbing some of the oil or they are just getting dried up. I actually called the company that makes it and they could not give me any info because I was using it for unintended purposes. The Tazorac definitely dries the lips for the first few weeks or months and makes them peel. I use a organic coconut oil balm and fractionated coconut oil every few days. I dont apply much of each because any lip balm makes my spots stand out more. Because of my lip color, I tend to keep them on the drier side to help the spots look better. Drinking more water will help hydrate your lips internally. When they did start to get bad with the peeling, I used a face/lip scrub (epicuren for me) combined with facial cleanser (cetaphil for me). Another thing to consider is what is causing stress to your lips. I have no idea if it helps but I try to brush my teeth and tongue regularly as well as use mouth wash multiple times a day (and try not to lick your lips). The more bacteria or old food or spices I can remove from my lips, the better I feel. This is probably just a general habit to take up no matter what, in addition to your diet and exercise habits. Good luck and Ill keep posting my updates and progress and I hope others do too!

DM - i got Tazorac .05% today. I will be starting tonight, using taz at night and an AHA in the morning. I will report back with my findings.

-KC

Thats what I ise every night too amd ots helped so much. I also keep my lips as dry as I can throughout the day without letting then get cracked and stuff. And I quit using blistex, I found out that it was makomg it 10x worse than the beginning.

If you feel it starting to lose it's effect after awhile, step up to the .10%. I use once or twice a day.

Did you use the .05 first? Did it lose it's effect? And didnt you say that you started to only use it every other day?